Most of us probably believed that having an occasional glass of wine was healthy for the body, after all, many doctors even recommended it in the past, so it was natural for people to believe it. However, the latest research has shown that occasional drinking, even of red wine, does not bring any health benefits and it is still clearly healthier not to drink alcohol at all.
Many previous studies have suggested that people who indulge in a glass of red wine, even every evening, may live longer and have healthier hearts than those who abstain. This idea appealed to many, especially after a long day when that glass of wine really went down well. However, according to expert Tim Stockwell, this claim is clearly not true. Details about the latest study were reported by Business Insider.
Errors in previous studies
A new study suggests that the previously assumed health benefits of moderate drinking may be an illusion. The research, led by Tim Stockwell and his team at the University of Victoria, critically reviewed dozens of studies that have shaped our understanding of the effects of alcohol on human health.
Stockwell explains that many previous studies suffered from fundamental design flaws, particularly in how they categorized and compared drinkers and abstainers.
The previously assumed health benefits of moderate drinking may be just an illusion... Source: unsplash.comThe researchers found that many previous studies had major methodological flaws that may have skewed the results in favor of alcohol consumption. For example, Some studies did not include abstainers who stopped drinking due to health problems, which could ultimately lead to the erroneous conclusion that moderate drinkers are healthier.
The main problem, according to Stockwell, is that previous studies have generally focused on older adults and have not taken into account lifetime drinking habits. This means that Moderate drinkers were often compared to "abstinents" and "occasional drinkers." This also included older adults who had stopped drinking or reduced their drinking due to health problems.
Distorted image
To better understand, Stockwell advises us to imagine two groups of people around the age of 60. One group includes those who drink moderately, the other group includes participants who do not drink at all. At first glance, moderate drinkers may seem healthier. But there's a catch—many abstainers may have stopped drinking alcohol due to health problems or medication use. This means that the group of “abstinent” drinkers may be full of people who already have health problems, making occasional drinkers healthier by comparison.
This distorted picture becomes more pronounced with the age of the respondents. As people age, they may begin to experience health problems that lead them to stop drinking alcohol. Therefore, studies that focus on older populations are more likely to have such biased comparisons between drinkers and abstainers.
Stockwell and his team decided to see if studies that managed to avoid these errors also showed health benefits of moderate drinking. They analyzed a total of 107 studies with a huge data set including nearly 5 million participants and more than 425,000 deaths. The results were stunning.
Scientific analysis of older studies
Researchers conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies on alcohol consumption and all-cause mortality. After combining all the data, it seemed at first glance that light to moderate drinkers had a 14 percent lower risk of death during the study period compared to abstainers. However, when they looked at higher-quality studies, it turned out that moderate alcohol consumption was not associated with a longer life. The apparent benefits were only seen in lower-quality studies with older participants, where the difference between former drinkers and lifelong abstainers was not addressed.
When researchers focused on higher-quality studies—those that followed younger people for longer periods of time and carefully separated lifelong abstainers from former drinkers—the health benefits of moderate drinking virtually disappeared. These studies showed no significant difference in the risk of death between light drinkers and abstainers.
The idea that a glass of wine a day can help you live longer is turning into a mere myth. Source: unsplash.comEverything is actually different.
These findings have huge implications. They suggest that much of what we thought about the health effects of small amounts of alcohol may be based on faulty assumptions. The idea that a glass of wine a day can help you live longer becomes a mere myth in this perspective.
In fact, moderate alcohol consumption probably does not prolong human life, but rather carries certain health risks, including an increased risk of some cancers. That's why no major health organization has ever established a safe level of alcohol consumption. "There is no completely safe level of drinking," says Stockwell.
This study is further evidence that we should be cautious when interpreting scientific studies, especially those related to our health. Alcohol has many negative effects, including an increased risk of cancer, heart disease, and liver problems.
This study has some limitations, including that it could not fully account for the complex interactions between factors such as socioeconomic status, smoking, and alcohol consumption, which could have influenced the results and biased the assessment of the true health effects of alcohol.
In any case, it still holds true that instead of relying on a glass of wine as a health elixir, we should focus on other and proven ways to improve our health. A balanced diet, regular exercise, and enough sleep are the basics that work for absolutely everyone.